All 50 US states, two U.S. territories and Washington, D.C. joined FirstNet, the First Responder Network developed by AT&T in a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority. The coming year will be a game changer for public safety as FirstNet expands across the nation and more innovative technologies and applications come on line for public safety subscribers. AT&T is in charge of providing the nationwide mobile broadband network for first responders in the US after securing the corresponding 25-year contract.

The First Responder Network Authority’s public-private partnership with AT&T provides first responders with immediate access to mission-critical capabilities over the FirstNet network. This includes priority and preemption features that give first responders their own ‘fast lane’ on the public safety network to communicate and share information during emergencies, large events or other situations when commercial networks could become congested. FirstNet is the only broadband network to provide ruthless preemption for public safety.